Artist Spotlight: FLAME

Seven albums in, Flame is still setting fire
to hip-hop charts with his new release,
Royal Flush.

Few artists can lay claim to the longevity
and platform enjoyed by Flame, the
celebrated rapper out of St. Louis. It’s a
testament to Flame’s talent and focused
vision to share the hope of the gospel. In
short, it’s his heart that keeps him going.

The good news is that the soil is ripe
for a hip-hop artist like Flame to speak
about spiritual things. Mainstream hip-hop
releases are littered with gospel references,
like Kanye West’s Yeezus. Flame believes
it’s the ideal climate for an album like
Royal Flush.

“The albums that are selling the most
have something to do with God or Christ or
Christianity,” says Flame. “So I get to say,
‘Hey, you’re talking about Christ. You’re
talking about Christianity. Let me introduce
you to it in its totality.’”

It doesn’t hurt that the emcee is at the
top of his game. Flame has always been
celebrated across the board with Grammy,
Stellar and Dove Award nominations; but
with compelling tracks like the hopeful
“Start Over (feat. NF)” and the gospel-centered
“Believe,” Royal Flush is truly a
rare album that mixes deeper theological
subject matter with dynamic compositions.

“Honestly, I feel like this is probably
some of my best work,” he says. “Actually,
I wouldn’t even say ‘probably.’ With every
album, you want to reinvent yourself but not lose yourself. You never want to go
so far in another direction where it’s like,
‘What happened to Flame? He’s weird now.’
But you also don’t want to remain the same
where they feel like they’re not getting
anything unique from this particular
project.”

Flame believes the poker metaphor
found in the album’s title gives him a proper point of entry into meaningful
conversations with both Christians and
non-Christians. Given Flame’s commitment
to presenting a message of hope, Royal
Flush is a winning image with which anyone
can relate.

“The metaphor for Royal Flush is saying
that God has given us the highest hand,”
says Flame. “In poker, if you’re dealt a royal
flush, it’s the highest hand you can be
dealt.

“The Christian has been set up to win
over sin, over death, over trials, over
temptations from the work that Christ has
done on the cross. I get to say, ‘I know the
hand that you’ve been dealt. You can be
re-dealt the highest hand. You can receive
the royal flush from God.’ It’s a metaphor
I think will resonate and, on the front end,
won’t turn the non-Christian off and will
pique the interest.”

After landing near the top of the charts
during release week, it’s clear everyone
was ready for Flame to deal another hand.
Fortunately, Royal Flush is a winning hand
for everyone.